Ten Ugly Sweaters

Practice Child
Why did it take me so long to complete one little girl-sized sweater? It's a fair question. I might blame it on my summer fling with a sweet seed-stitch purse pattern, (fueled by a justifiable addiction to i-cord), but to be honest, what slowed me down was my own insecurities. Knitting my first real sweater was like my first pregnancy. Exciting, to be sure, but doubt inevitably creeps into an expectant woman's thoughts. Am I ready for the challenges ahead? Do I know enough? Wouldn't it be wiser to put off the difficult parts a little longer?

Despite all of my apprehensions, I delivered my first-born. (He determined his own schedule and was 2 weeks early.) And, despite all of my dilly-dallying, I finished the sweater.

Knitting a beautiful, well-made sweater was a goal that I did not expect to achieve during my first crack at bat. Sweater-knitting isn't like parenting, in which even the practice child can somehow turn out to be quite serviceable. When I embarked on my sweater quest, I gave myself permission to knit at least 10 ugly sweaters before producing something even an impartial critic would look at and say, "What a nice sweater! Can I borrow it?" And by heaven, I have kept to my bargain, producing some truly hideous stuff. I don't think I could have learned more any other way, or had more fun.

Taming the Fox
So why was that ghastly orange sweater so beautiful to me? Why did I gently fold it and place it lovingly in a protective storage box when it proved to be unwearable? Why will I always treasure it? In Antoine de Saint-Exupery's The Little Prince, the fox explains to the prince why his rose is so special to him. " 'It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye...It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.' "

My first sweater was more than a too-short garment with tight armholes knit at the wrong gauge. It was time, love, hope, and dreams. Wouldn't you save it forever, too?

Lessons Learned From My First Ugly Sweater

1. Going down 3 needle sizes from the one recommended on the yarn label is probably too many, and I shouldn't have been surprised when it turned out a bit thick.
2. If you knit at a very tight gauge, you're going to need more yarn.
3. You should buy all the yarn you might need for a project at the same time, as "Coral Gables" in one dye lot can mean something very different from "Coral Gables" in another dye lot.
4. After seaming ribbing, the stitch pattern is interrupted if you don't include selvedge stitches.
5. It's a good idea to cast on for a sleeve using a bigger needle so the wrist is not too tight. Binding off the neckband on a bigger needle is also advisable for the same reason.
6. Neckband stitches should be picked up a little in from the edge to avoid holes.
7. An armhole opening needs to be bigger than you might think if you want the wearer of the sweater to enjoy a full range of motion.
8. There is a time lag between sweater planning and completion. Rocket scientists anticipate the moon's position at the time of the rocket's arrival; they do not aim at where the moon is when the rocket departs from Earth. Children are apt to grow, and it's best to allow for this when considering measurements.

My Second Ugly Sweater

After a suitable interval for reflection, it was time to plan my next project. Thanks to my discovery of the Yarn Girls' book, I felt ready to tackle a set-in sleeve, v-neck style. I would use familiar, reliable stockinette stitch for the body and ribbing at the edges, a sure-fire combination if ever there was one. This time, however, I would be my own lab rat and knit it to my own measurements.

I harbored no ill will toward the yarn for the shortcomings of my daughter's sweater, and I loved the huge selection of colors it came in. I decided to use the same yarn for my second sweater, this time in a shade of purple called "Baroque."

W.I.P.

Left sleeve finished and bound off, waiting to be sewn to sweater. After that I need a nice, long, snowy Sunday afternoon for the long side seams and weaving in all the ends. There might be cocoa involved. Studies show that the anticipation of a blissful activity is as stress-reducing as the activity itself.

Purls of Wisdom
From Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Without Tears: "Really, all you need to become a good knitter are wool, needles, hands, and slightly below-average intelligence. Of course, superior intelligence, such as yours and mine, is an advantage."

Tomorrow:

• I begin my second ugly sweater
• How to knit i-cord on single-pointed straight needles
• Will my w.i.p. be a sweater yet?